Cycling on French D-roads

[snorri]

I've never cycled in France but from reports I've read you are likely to be treated with the utmost courtesy, even admiration.

Be wary of "reports", many have been compiled by people whose cycling experiences are limited to France and the UK. Conditions for cyclists in France may be better than the UK, but fall well below those enjoyed by cyclists in many parts of Europe.

 

[Dave Davenport]

This D road (think it's the 139) is part of the Le Mans motor racing circuit.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Be wary of "reports", many have been compiled by people whose cycling experiences are limited to France and the UK. Conditions for cyclists in France may be better than the UK, but fall well below those enjoyed by cyclists in many parts of Europe.

Yep, whilst on the whole French drivers are much better than the majority of UK ones you do still get the odd bit of grief for not being on a cycle lane or riding two abreast, plus drink driving is still common, especially in rural areas.

 

[Dec66]

This D road (think it's the 139) is part of the Le Mans motor racing circuit.
View attachment 333565

Be interesting to take a night ride along there in mid-June I imagine?

 

[jay clock]

Be wary of "reports", many have been compiled by people whose cycling experiences are limited to France and the UK. Conditions for cyclists in France may be better than the UK, but fall well below those enjoyed by cyclists in many parts of Europe.

I have cycled Nice to Perpignan, UK to Spain via west coast and Montpellier to ST Malo. And a lap of Corsica. And New Zealand. Plus half a dozen tours in Spain. I am not interested in cycle paths like Germany and NL offer, and France is a sublime place to ride (with sensible planning). Plus superb camping and eating facilities

 

[byegad]

Yes, Some D routes are the equivalent of our fastest A roads, and some are dual carriageway too! Most aren't and here Google with Street view is your friend. I 'drove' a route I was wanting to use around Picardie five or six times on Street view and it gave me an awareness of the road conditions and instigated one change of the planned route to avoid a nasty looking stretch of 10 miles which looked heavily used by HGVs going to/from the channel ports.

My experience of cycling in France is that drivers are very much more considerate than in the UK, but the above comments about drink driving is probably true. In North East France they don't seem to go for the 2-3hr lunch breaks where everyone piles into a Cafe, Bistro or Bar for the duration to emerge on the roads driving like idiots. My limited experience of riding further South, Limoges, Bordeaux area suggests it's best to take a break Mid-afternoon from riding while the rush back to work is running.

 

[fixedfixer]

Not entirely true. Whilst French drivers on the whole are very good and in the main you are treated with respect.. In large towns and cities you do get some of the same problems as here. Not a patch on Spanish drivers though. No one beats the Spanish for respect of cyclists.

I would wholeheartedly concur with the fact the Spanish have utmost respect for cyclist. Unfortunately the only close passes I had seemed to be from expats with UK reg vehicles. Hey ho.

 

[ianrauk]

I would wholeheartedly concur with the fact the Spanish have utmost respect for cyclist. Unfortunately the only close passes I had seemed to be from expats with UK reg vehicles. Hey ho.

The worst pass we had through the whole of a week in France was a car heading for Calais. With Brit number plates.

 

[fixedfixer]

I suspect driving on the same side (if you get my meaning) as the cyclist being passed the driver can get a 'better' read closer aim at the pannier bags

 

[jay clock]

Agreed Spain generally good but they do a few specialities

1 Convert old road into a motorway and leave no other option except a huge detour. A couple of times I have done a mile or two on the hard shoulder to avoid that e.g. entering Sevilla from the east
2 Build a new toll motorway which is unused by lorries who stick to the old N road (no shoulder) and no alternative for bikes e.g. my day here https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1M2&page_id=303797&v=8P
3 Conversely the exact opposite - build a brand new free motorway next to an old N road for 500km allowing days of navigation-free cycling like this https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1M2&page_id=304248&v=7O

 

[mjr]

Some French cycle tracks are D roads too. The direction signs on this one are topped by a similar little yellow D number plate as the roads it has a junction with: http://www.instantstreetview.com/@44.739508,-0.171646,147.9h,-12.36p,2z

You just can't tell. I think route planners like http://cycle.travel/map/ have traffic data loaded in for France as they often pick a particular one of two roads that look similar on street view even when it looks longer/steeper.

 

[jay clock]

Some French cycle tracks are D roads too. The direction signs on this one are topped by a similar little yellow D number plate as the roads it has a junction with: http://www.instantstreetview.com/@44.739508,-0.171646,147.9h,-12.36p,2z

You just can't tell. I think route planners like http://cycle.travel/map/ have traffic data loaded in for France as they often pick a particular one of two roads that look similar on street view even when it looks longer/steeper.

I like that planning site.....